Brandon King

Colts Cut Roster Down To 53

Indianapolis has made a couple headline moves, but, most notably, succeeded in trimming their roster down to 53 players today. Here are the moves that helped them get down to the limit today:

Activated from active/physically unable to perform:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

The biggest stories of the day for the Colts come in the linebacking corps. In addition to adding star linebacker Leonard off the PUP, Indianapolis acquired second-year player Grant Stuard in a trade with Tampa Bay today. Stuard was primarily a special teamer with the Buccaneers last year, playing in every game as a rookie. He’ll go from one stacked linebacker room to another, likely backing up Leonard upon his arrival.

The Colts have quite an interesting rookie class. A sixth-round defensive tackle, Brooks is the only drafted rookie not to make the final roster besides sixth-round tight end Andrew Ogletree who will start his NFL career on injured reserve. None of this is spectacular, though. The interesting part is that Indianapolis will roster four undrafted rookies to start the 2022 NFL season.

Former SMU safety Trevor Denbow finds his way onto the initial 53 after leading the NFL this preseason with five special teams tackles. Cornerback Dallis Flowers can also thank his special teams value as his athleticism was supplemented by a 53-yard kickoff return to help him make the team out of Pitt State. Former Cornhusker JoJo Domann joins Leonard and Stuard in the linebackers room. And the French-Fries offensive line combination stays alive as Wesley French makes the final roster out of Western Michigan.

There were a number of other players who have special teams’ ability to thank for their roster spot in addition to Denbow and Flowers. Running back Deon Jackson played on all punt/kick return/coverage units for the Colts last year, earning him a tightly contested roster spot over Lindsay and Williams. Cornerback Tony Brown was the team’s highest-graded special teams player in the preseason, according to Pro Football Focus, and safety Rodney Thomas II played the third-most special teams snaps on the team.

Finally, the biggest performer of the Colts’ preseason was likely quarterback Sam Ehlinger whose stellar preseason led Indianapolis to roster three quarterbacks going into the season. The former-Longhorn’s impressive preseason play helped him earn a spot on the initial roster despite the Colts already rostering starter Matt Ryan and one of the league’s top backup quarterbacks in Nick Foles.

The Colts will have the opportunity tomorrow to announce any moves to form their 16-man practice squad. Players cut today who have not vested will have to clear waivers before returning to the team.

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/1/22

Here are the New Year’s Day activations from and placements on the reserve/COVID-19 lists:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: G Oli Udoh

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Bryce Hall

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Patriots Add RB Robert Martin, Make Other Minor Moves

The Patriots have signed RB Robert Martin and LB Scooby Wright, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss (Twitter links). Both players practiced with the team today.

Martin, who spent 2014-17 at Rutgers, will add depth for New England, as Damien Harris is dealing with minor injuries and the team isn’t likely to play any of its top running backs in its fourth preseason contest. The franchise worked out former Washington State running back James Williams before signing Martin, as Doug Kyed of NESN relays.

Wright was a seventh-round pick in the 2016 draft. He’s played for the Browns and Cardinals in addition to briefly playing in the failed AAF league.

New England waived DE/OLB Keionta Davis and placed special teamer Brandon King on injured reserve to accommodate the signings.

Contract Details: Patriots, Edelman, Collins

A look at the details on recent deals from around the NFL:

  • Julian Edelman, WR (Patriots): Two-year extension. Worth $18.5MM, could increase to $25.5MM with incentives. $9.3MM tied to roster bonuses/performance incentives, $1.1MM in workout bonuses. Cap hits: $6.077MM (2019), $7.166MM (2020), $6.66MM (2021). Details via the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin (Twitter) and The Athletic’s Nick Underhill (Twitter).
  • Jamie Collins, LB (Patriots): One year (original story). $250K guarantee, $100K signing bonus, $900K base salary. $1.25MM injury guarantee. Earnings: $2MM (plays in all 16 games), $3MM (part-time starter), $5MM (starts all 16 games). $3MM cap hit. Details via Volin and via Underhill.
  • Brandon King, LB (Patriots): Two-year extension, $3.5MM. When combined with current deal, contract is three years, $4.875MM. 2019 salary increases from $1.175MM to $1.975MM, 2019 cap number increases from $1.359MM to $1.626MM. Details via Volin.

Patriots To Sign Brandon King To Extension

The Patriots are signing linebacker Brandon King to a 2-year extension, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). King will earn $3.5MM over the course of the two new years, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (on Twitter).

King is a hybrid defensive back and outside linebacker, but hasn’t seen much time at either position. Instead, he has been a key cog in the third facet of the game for the Patriots since joining them as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn in 2015. King has appeared in 57 career games for the Patriots and has already won two Super Bowl rings in his young career.

Last year, King recorded 13 special teams tackles, good for ninth in the NFL. On the Patriots, he was third behind Nate Ebner (15) and Matthew Slater (14).

Patriots To Re-Sign S Brandon King

The Patriots have re-signed defensive back and core special-teamer Brandon King to a two-year that will keep him in New England through 2019, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). King had been scheduled to become a restricted free agent, but the Patriots opted to give him a new deal rather than tendering him an RFA offer.

King’s new pact is worth $2.6MM in total, reports Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter link), who adds King will collect a $400K signing bonus, which appears to be the only guaranteed portion of the agreement. Additionally, King will earn base salaries of $775K and $925K in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and can take home a maximum of $250K in per-game roster bonuses in each of the next two seasons.

King, 24, originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn in 2015. Since that time, he’s played primarily on special teams, and has never started a game. In 2017, King didn’t see any action on the defensive side of the ball, but he play the fourth-most special teams snaps (235) of any Patriot.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/11/17

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Patriots re-signed exclusive rights free agent defensive back Brandon King, according to the league’s transaction wire. King, 23, has appeared in 29 total games over the past two seasons in New England. While he didn’t play a single defensive snap in 2016, King was a stalwart on special teams, where he saw action on roughly a third of the Pats’ snaps and put up 10 tackles.
  • The Jaguars re-signed exclusive rights free agent defensive back Peyton Thompson, per the league wire. Thompson, 26, went undrafted out of San Jose State in 2012. After starting his NFL career in Atlanta, Thompson has spent the past three seasons in Jacksonville. Last year, he played 84 defensive snaps and 284 special teams snaps.
  • The Packers have waived cornerback Makinton Dorleant, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. Dorleant was arrested along with Chicago’s Deiondre’ Hall earlier this offseason, and charged with suspicion of interference. After going undrafted in 2016, the 24-year-old Dorleant spent much of his rookie season on injured reserve before being activated in December. He played in four games (primarily on special teams) before being placed on IR again.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/7/16

Here are Thursday’s minor moves from across the NFL:

  • Falcons right tackle Ryan Schraeder has signed his restricted free agent tender, according to ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure. It’s a one-year pact that will pay him $2.553MM. Schraeder was one of the few RFAs who may have drawn interest from rival teams despite receiving a second-round tender, but it appears no clubs were willing to make a serious play for him.
  • The Colts announced a series of roster moves today, officially confirming that they signed wide receivers Josh Boyce and Brian Tyms and waived guard Ben Heenan. Boyce and Tyms both have NFL experience in New England, while Heenan was a former CFL standout who has decided to retire (Twitter link via Sportscentre).
  • About a month after cutting veteran long snapper Aaron Brewer, the Broncos have signed a potential replacement. Per Mike Klis of 9NEWS (Twitter links), Denver worked out Air Force Academy long snapper Harrison Elliott, who has another year of military commitment, but ultimately signed former Iowa long snapper Casey Kreiter.
  • Ravens wide receiver Chris Matthews has signed his exclusive rights free agent tender, the club announced today (via Twitter). The signing ensures that Matthews remains under contract with Baltimore on a one-year, minimum salary deal.
  • Safety Brandon King, a key special-teamer for the Patriots in 2015, has signed his ERFA tender to remain in New England, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPN.com.

Patriots Release Bradley Fletcher

An offseason that featured a near-complete overhaul of the Patriots’ cornerback corps has continued into the season, with the team parting ways with veteran corner Bradley Fletcher, a source informed ESPN.com’s Field Yates (Twitter link).

Fletcher signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Patriots in March, and played in two games for the team this season. He had been dealing with a hamstring injury.

The ailment isn’t believed to be serious, but Fletcher wouldn’t have played against the Cowboys on Sunday, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (on Twitter).

The Patriots promoted safety Brandon King from their practice squad to fill the roster spot, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.

New England’s been getting by with a previously maligned cornerback crew after losing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner this offseason. The team’s parted ways with several veteran cornerbacks since, but Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan and Tarell Brown will lead the group against the Cowboys on Sunday.

The 29-year-old corner has started in 54 games in his seven-year career, the latest steady lineup stints coming with the Eagles in 2013-14. Prior to that, Fletcher, a third-round draft choice of the Rams in 2009, started throughout his second season in St. Louis.

Fletcher’s started 54 games in his career.